San José Municipality
Shuts Down Four Massage
Parlours
The Municipalidad de San
José succumed to
pressure by a series of
reports by Telenoticias
on the flourishing
massage parlour industry
in Barrio Amón and the
municipality's lack of
enforcement, closed four
locals Friday.
Telenoticias, local
channel 7 news team,
offered all week a
series of reports about
massage parlours in old
Barrio Amón operating
with impunity, some
without licenses,
brothels and all without
municipal control.
Rafael Arias, assistant
to San José's mayor,
Johnny Araya, said that
the closures were
affected after the
massage parlours were
found in violation of
health and security
regulations and did not
have their registries up
to date.
Arias said that on
inspection they found
that none of the
locations have tourists
nor anyone else as
guests and that on
closer inspection they
found sexual services
being offered, but that
is a matter for the
judicial police, the
Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ).
The actions by the
municipality came on a
Friday afternoon of a
long weekend, which
means that the
establishments cannot
act to conform to
regulations until
Tuesday at the earliest.
Municipal officials
confirm that their
action was motivated by
the television news
reports that aired at
7pm every night this
past week, detailing the
workings of the massage
parlous, many licenses
as a "pension" or
"hotel", but in fact
operating as brothels.
The news reports clearly
blamed the lack of
municipal controls and
municipal officials who,
for some reason or
others, have not acted,
converting the upscale
Barrio Amón into a a den
for prostitution.
Notwithstanding the
closure, Arias was quick
to point out that the
businesses can re-open
in a few days if they
comply with municipal
codes. Arias added that
the businesses have 22
days to comply with all
municipal codes before
becoming permanently
closed.
Municipal officials said
that they will be
continuing their series
of inspections and
closures and will be
working close with the
Ministerio de Seguridad
and the OIJ to detect
businesses that offer
sexual services, in
Barrio Amon and other
communities in San José.
According to an official
report, there are more
than 100 massage
parlours in San José
that offer sexual
services by young women,
and in some cases men,
ranging in prices from
˘5.000 to ˘20.000
colones for a half hour
to an hour.
So far this year the OIJ
has detained four
individuals running a
massage parlour that
were really a front for
a house of prostitution.
The four were charged
with pimping, which is
punishable by prison.
The four masage parlours
"clausurado" by the
municipality are New
Fantasy, Zona Blue,
Musas and 70E, all
massage parlours
featured in the
Telenoticias reports.
Click here for video
of police action on
massage parlours.
Click here for the video
news report that
motivated the municipal
action. |
